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Thanks to the reporting by EU Member States, comprehensive data on the state of Europe’s nature is available.

Every six years, EU Member States are required to report on the status of species and habitats covered by the Birds and Habitats Directive. The data delivery from Member States is vital, as it is the basis for a comprehensive assessment of the state of nature from a European perspective. Member States provide extensive knowledge in relation to, among others, conservation status trends, pressures and threats, and conservation measures.

The data delivery from Member States is vital, as it is the basis for a comprehensive assessment of the state of nature from a European perspective.

Reporting under Article 12 of the Birds Directive

Reports covered by Article 12 of the Birds Directive focus on the trends of bird populations and contain information in relation to the pressures and threats, conservation measures and the impact of Natura 2000. Data on birds at the Member State level indicate a high variation in breeding bird populations. Almost all Member States reported more than one-third of breeding populations as increasing or being stable. Almost half of all EU Member States reported decreasing short-term trends for a third of breeding populations.

Short-term trends in breeding bird populations by Member States for the reporting period 2013-2018

Alt text: Short-term trends in breeding bird populations by Member State in a horizontal stacked bar chart for 2013-2018. Long description: Stacked bar chart showing the short-term trends in breeding bird populations by increasing trend per Member State for the reporting period 2013-2018. Member states are arranged along the y-axis while each bar for each member state depicts the relative percentages of 5 population growth categories along the x-axis. The five population growth categories are 1. Increasing, 2. Stable, 3. Fluctuating, 4. Decreasing, and 5.) Unknown From the top down, the data are as follows: Ireland, 141 populations measured, 40% increasing, 25% stable, 20% decreasing, 15% unknown. Malta, 35 populations measured, 40% increasing, 35% stable, 20% decreasing, 5% unknown. Cyprus, 96 populations measured, 35% increasing, 45% stable, 10% decreasing, 10% unknown. Netherlands, 190 populations measured, 35% increasing, 25% stable, 30% decreasing, 10% unknown. United Kingdom, 250 populations measured, 35% increasing, 20% stable, 35% decreasing, 10% unknown. Italy, 256 populations measured, 30% increasing, 20% stable, 20% decreasing, 30% unknown. Belgium, 188 populations measured, 30% increasing, 25% stable, 5% fluctuating, 30% decreasing, 10% unknown. Germany, 252 populations measured, 30% increasing, 30% stable, 30% decreasing, 10% unknown. Latvia, 217 populations measured, 25% increasing, 25% stable, 20% decreasing, 30% unknown. Finland, 249 populations measured, 25% increasing, 35% stable, 5% fluctuating, 30% decreasing, 5% unknown. France, 290 populations measured, 25% increasing, 20% stable, 30% decreasing, 25% unknown. Czechia, 218 populations measured, 25% increasing, 20% stable, 20% decreasing, 35% unknown. Austria, 218 populations measured, 20% increasing, 45% stable, 5% fluctuating, 25% decreasing, 5% unknown. Spain, 340 populations measured, 20% increasing, 25% stable, 5% fluctuating, 20% decreasing, 30% unknown. Sweden, 259 populations measured, 20% increasing, 40% stable, 5% fluctuating, 30% decreasing, 5% unknown. Lithuania, 214 populations measured, 20% increasing, 45% stable, 5% fluctuating, 30% decreasing. Portugal, 270 populations measured, 20% increasing, 20% stable, 20% decreasing, 40% unknown. Poland, 237 populations measured, 20% increasing, 25% stable, 5% fluctuating, 25% decreasing, 25% unknown. Denmark, 196 populations measured, 20% increasing, 35% stable, 5% fluctuating, 5% unknown, 35% decreasing. Greece, 255 populations measured, 15% increasing, 65% stable, 10% decreasing, 10% unknown. Bulgaria, 249 populations measured, 15% increasing, 40% stable, 15% fluctuating, 20% decreasing, 10% unknown. Slovenia, 210 populations measured, 15% increasing, 15% stable, 15% decreasing, 55% unknown. Estonia, 217 populations measured, 15% increasing, 45% stable, 40% decreasing. Luxembourg, 132 populations measured, 10% increasing, 55% stable, 25% decreasing, 10% unknown. Hungary, 212 populations measured, 10% increasing, 40% stable, 20% fluctuating, 20% decreasing, 10% unknown. Slovakia, 214 populations measured, 10% increasing, 50% stable, 5% fluctuating, 35% decreasing. Croatia, 231 populations measured, 5% increasing, 5% stable, 5% decreasing, 85% unknown.

Source: EEA Report, State of nature in the EU

Two-thirds of all Member states reported that more than 30% of wintering populations have increasing or stable trends, while almost half of the Member States indicate that wintering populations are decreasing at a rate of above 15%.

Short-term trends in wintering bird populations by Member States for the reporting period 2013-2018

Alt text: Stacked bar chart showing the short-term trends in wintering bird populations by Member State for 2013-2018. Long description: Stacked bar chart showing the short-term trends in wintering bird populations by increasing trend per Member State for the reporting period 2013-2018. Member states are arranged along the y-axis while each bar for each member state depicts the relative percentages of 5 population growth categories along the x-axis. The five population growth categories are 1. Increasing, 2. Stable, 3. Fluctuating, 4. Decreasing, and 5.) Unknown. From the top down, the data are as follows: Austria, 35 populations measured, 55% increasing, 20% stable, 5% fluctuating, 15% decreasing, 5% unknown. Finland, 17 populations measured, 55% increasing, 35% stable, 10% decreasing. Estonia, 21 populations measured, 50% increasing, 35% stable, 15% decreasing. Sweden, 31 populations measured, 45% increasing, 10% stable, 20% fluctuating, 5% decreasing, 20% unknown. Italy, 56 populations measured, 40% increasing, 20% stable, 20% unknown, 20% decreasing. Germany, 66 populations measured, 40% increasing, 5% stable, 5% fluctuating, 35% decreasing, 15% unknown. Spain, 91 populations measured, 40% increasing, 20% stable, 5% fluctuating, 20% decreasing, 15% unknown. Czechia, 39 populations measured, 40% increasing, 10% stable, 5% decreasing, 45% unknown. Poland, 37 populations measured, 35% increasing, 10% stable, 15% fluctuating, 20% decreasing, 20% unknown. France, 72 populations measured, 30% increasing, 15% stable, 5% fluctuating, 15% decreasing, 35% unknown. Greece, 76 populations measured, 30% increasing, 25% stable, 5% fluctuating, 5% decreasing, 35% unknown. Slovakia, 21 populations measured, 30% increasing, 40% stable, 25% decreasing, 5% unknown. Netherlands, 62 populations measured, 30% increasing, 35% stable, 20% decreasing, 15% unknown. Malta, 16 populations measured, 25% increasing, 25% stable, 40% decreasing, 10% unknown. Slovenia, 44 populations measured, 20% increasing, 15% stable, 30% decreasing, 35% unknown. Hungary, 23 populations measured, 20% increasing, 15% stable, 40% fluctuating, 25% decreasing. Portugal, 71 populations measured, 20% increasing, 10% stable, 15% decreasing, 65% unknown. United Kingdom, 100 populations measured, 15% increasing, 30% stable, 10% fluctuating, 30% decreasing, 15% unknown. Belgium, 71 populations measured, 15% increasing, 10% stable, 5% fluctuating, 15% decreasing, 65% unknown. Cyprus, 48 populations measured, 15% increasing, 15% stable, 15% fluctuating, 15% decreasing, 40% unknown. Bulgaria, 81 populations measured, 15% increasing, 10% stable, 40% fluctuating, 15% decreasing, 20% unknown. Latvia, 23 populations measured, 10% increasing, 5% stable, 10% decreasing, 75% unknown. Ireland, 62 populations measured, 10% increasing, 5% stable, 55% decreasing, 30% unknown. Denmark, 46 populations measured, 10% increasing, 20% stable, 40% fluctuating, 10% decreasing, 20% unknown. Luxembourg, 16 populations measured, 5% increasing, 35% stable, 35% fluctuating, 20% decreasing, 5% unknown. Lithuania, 17 populations measured, 5% increasing, 35% stable, 5% fluctuating, 10% decreasing, 45% unknown. Croatia, 48 populations measured, 5% increasing, 5% stable, 5% fluctuating, 5% decreasing, 80% unknown.

Source: EEA Report, State of nature in the EU

The degree of unknown population trends varies greatly among EU Member States because it depends on whether bird monitoring systems are in place and whether they are effective and provide the appropriate information.

Reporting under Article 17 of the Habitats Directive

The key element of the reports covered by Article 17 of the Habitats Directive is the assessment of the conservation status and trends of species and habitats. This is complemented with information on the main pressures and threats, conservation measures and the impact of Natura 2000 network.

The reports by Member States show highly diverse results on conservation status of habitats and species across the EU territory and generally, Member States reported a higher proportion of unknown assessments for species than for habitats. Regarding habitats, most Member States have a good conservation status for less than 40% of their habitat assessments. On average, 6% of all habitat assessments show improvements, particularly forests and freshwater habitats. On the other hand, improvements for rocky habitats are rarely reported.

Conservation status of habitats by Member States for the reporting period 2013-2018

Alt text: Stacked bar chart showing the conservation status of habitats by Member State for 2013-2018. Long description: Stacked bar chart showing the conservation status of habitats by good status per Member State for the reporting period 2013-2018. Member states are arranged along the y-axis while each bar for each member state depicts the relative percentages of four habitat conservation status categories along the x-axis. The four categories are 1. Good, 2. Poor, 3. Bad, and 4. Unknown. From the top down, the data are as follows: Romania, 173 habitats measured, 70% good, 25% poor, 5% bad. Estonia, 60 habitats measured, 60% good, 30% poor, 10% bad. Greece, 89 habitats measured, 50% good, 40% poor, 5% bad, 5% unknown. Cyprus, 42 habitats measured, 45% good, 20% poor, 35% bad. Croatia, 125 habitats measured, 40% good, 25% poor, 25% bad, 10% unknown. Slovenia, 89 habitats measured, 40% good, 30% poor, 30% bad. Slovakia, 101 habitats measured, 40% good, 50% poor, 10% bad. Luxembourg, 28 habitats measured, 30% good, 20% poor, 50% bad. Finland, 91 habitats measured, 30% good, 35% poor, 35% bad. Germany, 195 habitats measured, 30% good, 30% poor, 40% bad. Malta, 29 habitats measured, 25% good, 10% poor, 65% bad. Portugal, 156 habitats measured, 25% good, 40% poor, 30% bad, 5% unknown. Sweden, 186 habitats measured, 25% good, 25% poor, 50% bad. Lithuania, 54 habitats measured, 25% good, 40% poor, 35% bad. France, 297 habitats measured, 20% good, 50% poor, 25% bad, 5% unknown. Poland, 115 habitats measured, 20% good, 50% poor, 25% bad, 5% unknown. Czechia, 93 habitats measured, 20% good, 50% poor, 30% bad. Austria, 117 habitats measured, 20% good, 40% poor, 40% bad. United Kingdom, 87 habitats measured, 15% good, 15% poor, 70% bad. Ireland, 59 habitats measured, 15% good, 45% poor, 40% bad. Hungary, 55 habitats measured, 10% good, 40% poor, 50% bad. Bulgaria, 188 habitats measured, 10% good, 85% poor, 5% bad. Netherlands, 52 habitats measured, 10% good, 30% poor, 60% bad. Italy, 263 habitats measured, 10% good, 40% poor, 40% bad. Latvia, 61 habitats measured, 10% good, 35% poor, 40% bad, 5% unknown. Spain, 247 habitats measured, 10% good, 50% poor, 20% bad, 10% unknown. Denmark, 111 habitats measured, 5% good, 20% poor, 75% bad. Belgium, 93 habitats measured, 5% good, 20% poor, 75% bad.

Source: EEA Report, State of nature in the EU

On average, 6% of all species assessments show improvements. The species group with the largest number of improvements is mammals, followed by fish and vascular plants. Nearly 80% of species showing improvements in status and/or trends are animals and 20% are plant species. One-fifth of species assessments in 80% of Member States recorded a deteriorating trend, which indicates that species with a deteriorating trend do not score as highly as in the habitat assessments. Species have in general better conservation status than habitats.


Conservation status of species by Member States for the reporting period 2013-2018

Alt text: Stacked bar chart showing the conservation status of various species by Member State for 2013-2018. Long description: Stacked bar chart showing the conservation status of various species by good status per Member State for the reporting period 2013-2018. Member states are arranged along the y-axis while each bar for each member state depicts the relative percentages of each member state’s measured species pool whose conservation statuses fall into four different categories along the x-axis. The four categories are 1. Good, 2. Poor, 3. Bad, and 4. Unknown. From the top down, the data are as follows: Cyprus, 55 species measured, 65% good, 20% poor, 5% bad, 10% unknown. Ireland, 60 species measured, 60% good 15% poor, 15% bad, 10% unknown. Estonia, 96 species measured, 60% good, 25% poor, 10% bad, 5% unknown. Malta, 45 species measured, 50% good, 20% poor, 10% bad, 20% unknown. Sweden, 273 species measured, 45% good, 20% poor, 35% bad. Romania, 621 species measured, 45% good, 35% poor, 10% bad, 10% unknown. Finland, 159 species measured, 45% good, 35% poor, 15% bad, 5% unknown. Italy, 569 species measured, 45% good, 35% poor, 20% bad. United Kingdom, 108 species measured, 40% good, 20% poor, 20% bad, 20% unknown. Latvia, 109 species measured, 40% good, 45% poor, 15% bad, 5% unknown. Bulgaria, 444 species measured, 40% good, 35% poor, 5% bad, 20% unknown. Poland, 257 species measured, 40% good, 35% poor, 15% bad, 10% unknown. Lithuania, 35% good, 35% poor, 15% poor, 15% unknown. Greece, 297 species measured, 35% good, 45% poor, 10% bad, 10% unknown. Hungary, 212 species measured, 35% good, 50% poor, 15% bad. Czechia, 267 species measured, 30% good, 30% poor, 25% bad, 5% unknown. Slovenia, 332 species measured, 30% good, 40% poor, 15% bad, 15% unknown. France, 645 species measured, 30% good, 30% poor, 25% bad, 15% unknown. Portugal, 437 species measured, 25% good, 30% poor, 15% bad, 30% unknown. Netherlands, 80 species measured, 25% good, 25% poor, 40% bad, 10% unknown. Germany, 370 species measured, 25% good, 30% poor, 35% bad, 10% unknown. Belgium, 138 species measured, 25% good, 30% poor, 35% bad, 10% unknown. Slovakia, 320 species measured, 20% good, 60% poor, 20% bad. Denmark, 122 species measured, 20% good, 30% poor, 35% bad, 15% unknown. Spain, 671 species measured, 20% good, 35% poor, 30% bad, 15% unknown. Luxembourg, 60 species measured, 15% good, 35% poor, 50% bad. Austria, 336 species measured, 15% good, 55% poor, 30% bad. Croatia, 5% good, 25% poor, 20% bad, 50% unknown.

 Source: EEA Report, State of nature in the EU

For the complete analysis of bird populations, see the latest EEA report on the ‘State of nature’.